The symmetrical patterns found in nature amaze me. Snowflakes are symmetrical because they reflect the internal order of the water molecules as they arrange themselves in the solid state (the process of crystallization). Snowflakes are mysterious things. Their fundamental form derives from the arrangement of the water molecules in the ice crystal. When a liquid freezes, the molecules tend to settle in the lowest-energy state, and that almost always involves some form of symmetry. The higher the symmetry, the more stable the crystal is. (Micro-photography of individual snowflakes by Alexey Kljatov)
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 02:06:29 +0000
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